How to improve your handwriting simply by changing what you eat...

There's no doubt about it -- the brain is truly connected to the rest of the body. And for many of you or your kids who have been diagnosed with behavioral disorders, the conventional treatments of drugs or psychotherapy completely misses this body-mind connection. This robs you of one of the MO T powerful techni!ues of fi"ing so-called #mental illnesses# -by the end of this article you'll find out that your #mental illness# might not be so mental after all. $'ll talk more about the science behind this idea in a future article. %ut this week, $'d like to tell you about a little boy named &ayson and how $ used a different approach to help him make a stunning recovery from A'(', and surprisingly, at the same time, dramatically improve his handwriting. )And $'ve got the handwriting samples to prove it, which you'll see in *ust a second...+ &ayson's story illustrates the concept of body and mind far better than anything $ could tell you about neurotransmitters and biochemical pathways. $ met &ayson when his mother brought him to my office. ,hy,ell, this ..-year old suffered many physical difficulties -- asthma, ec/ema, allergies, sinus infections, stomachaches, headaches and sleep problems. And &ayson was taking a laundry list of medications to treat these problems. (e took the antihistamine drug 0yrtec and 1asarel )a steroid inhaler that stunts growth in kids+ for his allergies, an albuterol inhaler and the drug 2openen" for his asthma, the stomach drug Tagamet, and Tylenol and Motrin for his aches and pains. That's !uite a cocktail of medications for a little boy3 %ut the asthma, allergies, stomachaches, and headaches weren't even his biggest problems. 4ou see, &ayson had terrible attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder )A'('+. (e wasn't alone.

ome 5 to 6 percent of kids 7&8.9are now labeled with A'(' -- kids who can't pay attention, are impulsive and distractible, and can't function in school or with friends. ,orse, these kids are being treated with serious psychiatric medicines. More than two million children now take stimulant medications like :italin, 8oncerta, ;ocalin, and Adderall. $n fact, from .<=> to .<<?, the use of these drugs increased by a whopping @AA percent3 That's not all. Bids are also being prescribed anti-psychotic medications like :ipserdal, antisei/ure medications like Trileptal, and antidepressants like Cro/ac. %ut that isn't the way $ treat A'(' -- and it's not the way $ treated &ayson. $ believe we need to ask ourselves why we're seeing such epidemic rates of A'('. 8ould it have anything to do with our children's diet- Or nutritional deficiencies- Or to"ins$s there a different way to approach diagnosing and treating these kids that recogni/es that the brain is affected by the bodyThe answer is 4D 3 $ believe there's a new approach to A'(' -- one that you may not have heard about. $t's a science-based, systematic approach that looks at the roots of the problem and corrects them, rather than *ust masking the symptoms with drugs like :italin. That's the approach $ used to treat &ayson. Enlike most doctors and psychiatrists, $ didn't want to know *ust about his behavioral problems or A'(', but AFF his symptoms. That's because $ recogni/e that not only can the mind affect the body, the body can influence the brain. $ asked &ayson and his mom to tell me his story, because $ knew that hidden in his story would be clues to his poor health. ,hat did $ learnThey told me that &ayson had repeated kindergarten because of his A'(' and had taken :italin for many years. ,hy did he stop-

The :italin suppressed his appetite, and he got too skinny. %ut when &ayson stopped taking :italin, he ate more, gorging himself on cookies, deli meats, pi//a, donuts, and ice cream. (e was bigger -- but not better. Off the :italin, he couldn't focus, /oned out in school, was disruptive, couldn't concentrate, and -- at .. years old -- couldn't write legibly3 That's right. &ayson had a condition called dysgraphia, which means that he had e"tremely bad handwriting. $t's a common problem in kids with A'(', behavioral problems, or learning disabilities. And that's not all. &ayson had a litany other woes. (e complained of fre!uent headaches, snee/ing, sore throats, hives a few times a week, trouble breathing at night, stomachaches every morning, insomnia, canker sores, hypersensitivity to noises and smells, little bumps on the back of his arms, ec/ema, generally itchy skin, and muscle cramps and spasms. As a toddler he had taken many antibiotics for ear infections and had been very prone to diaper rash. All of these symptoms were being treated with medication, but he really didn't feel much better. %ut, remember, &ayson's story has clues - what did they tell me,ell, his headaches, insomnia, muscle spasms and cramps, and hypersensitivity to noise suggested magnesium deficiency. The canker sores suggested a food allergy or gluten intolerance. The hives, asthma symptoms, and sinus problems also suggested a food allergy or environmental allergy to dust, pollen, or mold. The fre!uent use of antibiotics suggested yeast overgrowth in his gut. The ec/ema and itchy dry skin suggested allergies, /inc deficiency, and omega-5 fat deficiency. And the bumps on his arms also suggested nutritional deficiencies, including those in omega-5 fats and vitamin A. o now $ had a road map of the root causes of &ayson's problems -- food allergies, nutritional deficiencies, yeast problems.

(is test results confirmed most of my suspicions. (e had allergies to dairy, gluten, citrus, and peanuts. (is white blood cells showed he had a yeast problem. (e had many nutritional deficiencies - in /inc, magnesium, omega-5 fats, vitamin ', vitamin D and %?, and tryptophan. These nutrients are critical for healthy brain function as well as immune function. (e had high levels of inflammatory saturated fats and high levels of trans fats from *unk food. (e also had mild lead to"icity . Fead to"icity and environmental to"ins were linked to A'(' in a large recent study ) httpGHHwww.ehponline.orgHmembersHIAA?H<@>=H<@>=.pdf +. 8learly, &ayson's gut-immune-brain system was out of kilter. %ut what do these things have to do with A'('AFF of them can affect the brain3 And they show that A'(' isn't caused by bad parenting -- or a :italin deficiency3 o how should A'(' be treatedActually, the treatment $ gave &ayson was ridiculously simple. %efore even getting his tests back, $ knew that he needed to be put on an elimination diet. That meant getting rid of the most common food allergens -- dairy, gluten, eggs, and yeast. $ also had him get off *unk foods and sugar and eat real, whole food. $ treated his yeast problem with an antifungal medication for one month. $ gave him a daily multivitamin, and supplemental /inc, magnesium, and fish oil, as well as acidophilus to improve his gut and immune system. %y getting rid of the things that were keeping him out of balance )food allergies and yeast+ and by giving his body the things it needed to function and thrive )good food, fish oil, /inc, magnesium, and healthy bacteria for the gut+ &ayson was able to recover his health. Two months later, &ayson returned to my office a new and happy boy. ,hat had changed(is hives, stomachaches, asthma, anal itching, headaches, runny nose had all disappeared.

(e was sleeping at night. And he was off all his medications3 Clus, he was doing much better in school, with only one episode of disruptive behavior in class. $ added a few more things to &ayson's regimen -- vitamins ' and %? and some 6-(TC )which is a building block for the amino acid tryptophan+ - and he found himself for the first time in his life free from all his chronic symptoms and more importantly succeeding in school, socially and academically. And remarkably, his writing went from illegible to perfectG Jo to the link below to see his writing %D;O:D coming to see meG KKL httpGHHwww.ultrametabolism.comHblogHfilesHbefore-sample.*pg 1ow, go to the link below to see his writing A;TD: coming to see meG KKL httpGHHwww.ultrametabolism.comHblogHfilesHafter-sample.*pg 1otice how inconsistent, *agged, sloping and rough the writing is in the before sample and compare that to how much more consistent, smooth and linear the after sample is. %ut don't *ust take it from me or the writing sample. Take a look at the email that &ayson's mom sent, highlighting the changes in his lifeG KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK #,e had a 6A@ meeting at &ayson's school this morning )where the teachers, school counselor, parents and principal all get together to review #the plan# for kids with special educational needs - in &ayson's case prompted by the A'(' diagnosis+. This was the first time in his entire schooling history that everything seems to be going well. The input from his teachers was that he is #a different kid# than they saw in the first half of the year and that they're ama/ed by the difference. The school nurse hasn't seen him since March )and he used to be in her office several times a week+. The school psychologist said his social skills are very good, age appropriate, and that she sees no problems at all. he also noted that &ayson seems very proud of himself and his new health and that he's taking good ownership of all the changes in his diet. (e even seems to be shrugging it off when the other kids at school tell him he's an #alien# because he doesn't drink soda. This was *ust such a fantastic meeting and $ wanted to pass along the good news and say Thank 4ou3#

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK ,ow3 %ut these results aren't uni!ue to &ayson. These kinds of transformations are possible for so many people who suffer both physical and mental symptoms. %y dealing with the real issues instead of overmedicating our kids and ourselves, we can all find a way back to health through this new model of medicine that seeks the clues to the underlying problems and corrects them. o if you have mood or behavioral problems, here are a few things than can make a big difference. .. Fook at your diet. 8onsider cleaning it up and eating whole foods. ;ollow the first @ weeks of the EltraMetabolism Crescription, which helps you get off stimulants, sedatives, and food allergens in your diet. I. Jet an oil change. Dat wild salmon, sardines, and black cod and consider taking an fish oil supplement containing a total of at least 6AA to .,AAA mg of DCA and '(A a day. 5. Jet your %s. Take a good %-vitamin comple" supplement with at least =AA mcg of folic acid, I6 mg of %? and 6AA to .,AAA mcg of %.I to help mood and brain function. @. And your '. Take I,AAA $E of vitamin '5 a day, which can help with depression and immunity. 6. Jet moving. D"ercise vigorously for 5A minutes, 5 to @ times a week. tudies show it is as effective as Cro/ac in treating depression. ?. upplement with magnesium. $f you are tense, an"ious, have insomnia or muscle cramps, are constipated, or have headaches, you could be deficient in magnesium. Take @AA to ?AA mg day of magnesium glycinate or citrate. Try taking these steps or use them with your children and see if health improves as &ayson's did.

4ou may find that your #mental illness# wasn't so mental at all -- and was really caused by nutritional issues3 1ow $'d like to hear from you... (ave you noticed how your physical health can influence your mental health(ave you found that what you eat or what you don't affects your brain'o you think psychiatrists are diagnosing and treating A'(' in the best way- ,hat do you think should change$f you or your kids have e"perienced mental health issues, how have conventional treatments helped or not helpedClease let me know your thoughts by posting a comment on my blog atG KKL httpGHHwww.ultrametabolism.comHblog &ust look for the post at the top titledG #(ow to improve your handwriting simply by changing what you eat...# ...and post your comments there. To your good health, Mark (yman, M.'.